A Dance
by sporker101
Summary: She had missed the dancing. Alistair/Fem!Dalish


So I haven't written fanfiction in five years at least. However, the other night a plot bunny came into being and it would not stop hopping at my heels. Thus, this fanfic was born. I hope you all enjoy it.

A Dance

It had been a long time since she had felt at home, not since her clan had traveled north after she left. To be surrounded by her people, the Dalish, and not be looked upon as strange or second-class was a wonderful feeling. She'd also missed the food, the people and the music.

Ah, the music.

She could close her eyes and just listen, pretending she was back home again. So she did, leaning on her hands from her seat on the bench.

Amidst the music and chatter, she heard Leliana, singing and weaving a tale of Zathrian and his "heroic" sacrifice earlier that day. His funeral and mourning had taken place in the daylight, but when night fell there came celebration for his life and for the lives of those saved.

She heard Wynn talking to Aneirin, who they had found during their trek through the forest. She heard Oghren, speaking loudly and with a slur. She smiled to herself. Their voices didn't make this seem any farther from home; in fact they almost made it more of a home than she'd had before.

She was startled out of her thoughts with a loud crash as Oghren passed out in his armor. An unamused-looking Sten took him by the arm and dragged him away, as he was the only one strong enough to carry their stout dwarven companion.

Lyna sighed as Leliana stopped singing and there was a pause in the music. The song changed, faster and more upbeat.

She knew this song.

She watched as some of the Dalish rose from their seats and began to dance around the bonfire, their lithe and acrobatic bodies creating blurs of flesh and fabric.

She had missed the dancing, too.

Lyna debated for a moment whether to join them or not, but as she began to tap her foot and sway to the music she realized that her body had made the decision for her.

She rose from her seat and took a place in the circle of elves. She let the music take control of her body as she moved, giving herself to the beats of the drums and the seductive sway of flute and strings. She felt as graceful as a halla, a welcome change from her time spent in leather armor lugging around supplies.

She closed her eyes briefly as she spun, and when she opened them, her eyes met Alistair's. He was looking at her intently from where he leaned against an aravel in his tunic and pants.

She felt mischievous then, under his gaze, and she kept her eyes locked on his as she danced, bending back with the music. She saw him swallow hard before she disappeared around the bonfire.

The music changed then to another fast-paced song, and as the men began to join their ladies in the dance circle Lyna was struck with an idea.

She leapt gracefully to Alistair's side and could see his face was flushed.

"Why aren't you dancing?" She asked him, looking up at him through her lashes.

"I… um," he began, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "I don't know how."

"Don't know how? Weren't you raised in an arl's household? Did they never have dances?"

"Yes well, I was young and wasn't allowed to stay up that late. I've never danced before," she eyed him in disbelief before he continued. "Well there was that one time, but it was a dare… and I may have been drunk, I can't quite remember."

She smiled and held out her hand to him. "Come, I can show you how."

"What? No, I…um, I much prefer watching," Alistair said, looking uncomfortable.

"Don't be silly," she said, and she grabbed his hands, dragging him into the dance circle even though he could have easily stood still and she could not have budged him. She knew then that he secretly wanted to try.

"But won't they trip over us," he said as she positioned his hands on her waist.

"How do you think people learn? They'll just go around us, don't worry," she said, and then she began to move.

She led him around the bonfire, trying to show him where to place his feet, when to lift her, when to bend her backward, and when to twirl her. But as his hands tightened on her waist and his eyes tried unsuccessfully to focus on her tattooed forehead rather than her heavily lidded eyes or her body that was bending in his hands, it was apparent he was having trouble concentrating.

Before the song was over, Alistair released her and mumbled something before practically running back to the aravel.

A handsome Dalish man offered to take his place, but Lyna refused him with a smile and walked to Alistair's side.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" She asked him, amusement in her voice that made Alistair flush deeper in embarrassment.

"Sure, if you don't mind dancing with a golem. I'm surprised I didn't break your toes."

Lyna laughed and swatted at him playfully on his chest. "Practice makes perfect, you know."

"It's good then that I don't mind not being perfect."

They stood there quietly for awhile, watching the dancers. The music slowed to a steady beat and Lyna watched as the dancers spun slowly.

She was taken completely by surprise at the hand that was suddenly on her lower back. Alistair pulled her roughly to him until she was pressed against his muscled body. She felt a warmth trickle through her where they connected and she looked up at him in surprise. He also seemed a bit alarmed at what he had done, but he recovered quickly and looked at her with eyes that danced in the firelight.

"I think I can dance to this," he said, his voice low and husky. Then his lips were on hers. His tongue fluttered against her lips like a bow caressing a stringed-instrument, his mouth catching her sighs that were soft like a Dalish flute. He pressed her against him and their hearts pounded together like a mallet on an animal-skin drum, all to the beat of the music. When they paused for breath, she sighed against his lips.

"And you said you didn't know how to dance," she said to him breathlessly. She couldn't tell if the heat she felt on her face was from the fire or from him.

"I'm a fast learner," he said, smiling. He kissed her again and took her hand. They retreated into the dark, away from the bonfire, and into her tent.

And they danced all night.


End file.
